Crackdown on lobbyists after explosive anti-corruption inquiry
Local government will be covered by lobbying rules for the first time as the Minns government announces a suite of changes including new investigative powers.
In response, Perrottet announced all third-party and in-house lobbyists would be required to register with a new lobbying regulator and all MPs – not just ministers – would be required to disclose their diaries each month.
Senior political advisers — not just public servants — would also be banned from engaging in lobbying relating to matters they had official dealings with in their last 12 months in a government office.
But the government will impose just a six-month ban for some senior public servants, while not extending it to ministerial staff, arguing they are not decision-makers. Similarly, in-house lobbyists will continue to be exempt from lobbyist disclosure rules. Ministerial diaries would be “enhanced” to make them “consolidated and searchable” while the rules would be clarified to ensure disclosure is required for fundraising events involving exclusive or private access to a minister.
Rather than establish a new lobbying regulator, the Minns government will formalise the Electoral Commission’s role as the watchdog for lobbyists while handing it new powers requiring government agencies and officials to hand over relevant records for compliance audits.
The government said the reforms had been developed in consultation with ICAC and the Electoral Commission “to ensure the changes are proportionate and effective”.
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